Cycling in the Rain. A Bikey First!

The past year and change that I've been cycling has been such a wonderful experience, and it's been full of "firsts." This week I rode my bike in the rain for the first time. I am not a full-time bike commuter so this was purely by choice.  I know all you other hard-core kids out there are doing it so I thought why not?

Leaving the office to cycle home in the evening rain.

My outfit was practical if not completely waterproof.

Long sleeve merino wool cycling jersey - Swobo

Trent coat - Target

Jeans - Citizens of Humanity

Boots - Rubber rain boots

Gloves - Head ($10 from Costco. I keep them in my panniers at all times.)

Helmet - Bern Watts

My bike is always prepared for rain because it has full fenders and lights. The only special thing I had to was to put plastic bags over my panniers because they are not waterproof.

The ride was was exhilarating! One gentleman on the sidewalk told me that he also rides a bike and he was very impressed with my biking-in-the-rain set-up! He also said that he enjoys biking in the rain.

I did end up pretty wet! (crappy iPhone picture)

I'd definitely do it again! However if I was riding to a place where I had to look presentable, I'd bring a change of clothes and make sure to allow my self enough time to clean myself up a bit.

While this week has been cool and rainy, we are heading into a sunny weekend with temps in the 80's!

Diagnosing Rose.

You may remember a while back I posted that I bought a vintage mixte to restore. I haven't posted anything about it since because, well, it's been sitting in my garage. I promised myself that I'd take care of a few more pressing matters in my life (like finishing two years of back taxes) before starting on this project. Well today I took the first step in getting it started. We took the bike (which I've named Rose) over to Bikerowave to see what kind of shape she's really in. My plan is to get the bike in working order while spending as little money as possible. I'd like to ride it for a while and evaluate it before spending a bunch of money on replacing components. The one thing I plan on splurging on, though, is a Brooks saddle. My reasoning here is that I can always use the saddle on another bike, and it'll last me a lifetime.

Over the next few weeks I'll post some pictures of the "before" state of the bike. Here's a teaser:

Photo Credit: Omar Gonzalez

The diagnosis from a very helpful volunteer at Bikerowave (Ryan) is that the bike is in pretty decent shape over all. It will need new tires, new cables and housing, new brake pads, and possibly a new chain. I also plan on doing quite a bit of cosmetic cleaning. They carry pretty much everything I need at Bikerowave, so the whole thing should be pretty painless and not too expensive. I can't wait to get started!

Beautiful Beach Commute.

Friday evening commute.

I have a feeling that as long as I am this temporary office by the beach and my commute includes this lovely bit of beach bike path, there will be a lot of pictures like this. :)

The sunsets have been so beautiful this past couple of weeks in Los Angeles. The harvest moon on the equinox was just incredible. It's been a lovely time to be out on the bike.

Beachy Fall Commute.

As I embarked on my commute home tonight, this was what I saw.

As I rode over to the beach to get a better look at the sunset I realized I could actually take the beach bike path for part of my ride home.

I'll definitely be making this a regular part of my commute!

This is when I really love where I live.

Aaaah.

Recently we had a fire at our regular office, so we've been working out of a temporary place which is just steps from the beach. That's why I happened upon this beautiful scene as soon as I left the office. I feel very lucky - especially on these last few warm days and balmy nights. As I've been riding my bike to work and back, I keep finding better and better routes. I think I've finally found the perfect way though. The beach bike path and the Venice Boulevard bike lanes make up about 90% of my commute. A small jaunt through a peaceful neighborhood is the other 10%.

Creative Solutions.

At the Farmers' Market last Sunday I spotted this father/son duo.

Check out the clever storage solution for their Farmers' Market goodies!

Dad checking on his kid and cargo.

As I was snapping pics I overheard the gal in the booth asking the dad about their bike. It's definitely an attention getter!

I recently picked up this milk crate for my own bike (in red) but I haven't installed it yet. I was thinking of zip-tying it to my rear rack and trying out the idea of just throwing stuff into the crate instead of my current two-pannier storage system. I've never been able to find a front basket that I thought looked right on my bike, but I've always longed for the ease of a basket you can just toss your stuff into. 

For those of you wondering why I actually bought one and didn't just grab a milk crate from behind a restaurant, there a couple of reasons. These crates from The Container Store are smaller than the kind found at restaurants and grocery stores and seem more appropriately sized for my bike and my rack, and at $10 I thought it was a bargain on-bike storage solution. But more importantly taking a dairy crate from a restaurant is stealing, no? I'm not sure if it's stealing from the restaurant or the dairy but either way I'd rather just plunk down $10 and have a clear conscious.

Charge Lazy Susan.

Recently I've come across a really cool bike on the internet. I've yet to see it in person because I can't find a shop that stocks them in LA. Charge Bikes seems to be a British company. All the retailers on the website are in the UK. I have seen the fixed gear Charge Plug in an LA shop but not this sweetie - The Lazy Susan.

Photo via Charge Bikes

Isn't that a gorgeous bike? They've taken the step-through/Dutch/city bike and made it completely modern, a little bit punk rock and not at all prissy. Personally I have no qualms with a girly girl bike but for some women (maybe like the one in the photo below) something with a little more edge is in order. I love the angular chain guard, the clean lines, the silver fenders, and the stunning burnt-orange color. Notable specs are a Sturmey-Archer 3 speed hub , drum brakes, and an integrated rear rack.

Photo via road.cc

In the above picture you can see the bike provides an upright riding position like a traditional European city bike.

Photo via road.cc

Does anyone have experience with a rack like this? Though it's absolutely beautiful, I wonder about its utility. The tubes seems very large. I don't think I'd be able to get my hard plastic pannier hooks around them. Also I'd be worried about scratching up the beautiful paint on the rack with  the pannier hooks. I've always wondered about how well painted racks hold up in general.

Photo via Ridelow Bikes

Maybe a pannier set with leather straps like above would solve the problem - but those kinds of panniers are not as easy on/easy off as the kinds that mount with hooks.

Photo via road.cc

Another fun feature is the retro-looking shifter. Apparently those are the graphics of the old-school Sturmey Archer shifter. Very cute. The three speed hub might be a deal breaker for people who live in hilly cities.

Has anyone out there seen the Lazy Susan in the wild, or ridden one? There seem to be a couple of online retailers that sell them here in the U.S. for around $700.

If it were my bike I believe I would change out the saddle. The stock saddle looks a little cheap. I'd also do something about those rubberized grips. Finally I would look for a front basket that was harmonious with the chic modernism of the bike - maybe a Wald Woody or a Velo-Orange Porteur Rack. This beauty below by Axiom is a rear basket but it's oh so chic.

Photo via Chubby's Cruisers

For a good review and more pictures of the bike check out road.cc.


Gentlemen, if you can't quite rock an orange step-through, they also make the Steamer. Not quite as charming somehow but still really cool.

Photo via Charge Bikes

Mad Man on a Bike.

After mulling it over for a while, I see no reason why I shouldn't post the occasional photo of a handsome man on a bike. If this bores any of my male readers, I apologize - but only a little bit.


As the new season of "Mad Men" is in full swing, I feel it's a good to time to post this photo of actor John Slattery who plays Roger Sterling on the show.

Talk about Hollywood glamour.

This photo appears to be on the studio lot with the actor in costume. Everything about this picture is kind of perfect. The suit, the script, the sunglasses, the way the light shines on the tie clip, the bike, the beauty of the photograph itself...sigh. It looks like it could have been taken in the 60's.


I've liked John Slattery for a long time. Some of you might remember him from his stint as Carrie's politician boyfriend (with a peccadillo or two) on Sex and the City.


And if you're like me and you just like John Slattery or his character on "Mad Men," here are a couple of bonus shots. (Sorry no bikes in these.)

Roger Sterling.

This Girl's Bike in no way endorses smoking. ;)

Younger. Less silver. Still handsome.